Feeling Good
by magicmumu
Summary: Henry and Emma perform a song together. (Slight Swan Queen/Remma)


Feelin' Good

by Erin Griffin

Fandom: Once Upon A Time

Pairing: Emma/Regina, slight Henry/Paige and a smidgen of Emma/Ruby

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or the song.

A/N: The song is Feelin' Good, Michael Buble's version. I did the best I could to put the performance as I had it in my head down on paper, but I am so bad with descriptions. I hope, when you listen to the song, you can imagine the movements as it goes along. I had this idea for a while but because of this problem it took me until now to figure out how to write it. Enjoy.

Regina looked for the closest seat she could find to the stage and sat down on one the the nicely cushioned seats. Regina made a face. The seats were divine. They better have been, for the amount she had put aside in the budget for them. It wasn't as if she didn't have the funds at the time, but the theater was already close to condemned at the time, so what would a few nice chairs have done? The theater manager Mr. Harris, a man who once went by Ol' King Cole if only he'd remember, had such a persuasive portfolio that she had to grant his request. He had, after all, gone through all the right channels, and so far, if the plays the community actors did continued in this fashion, Regina would admit to being wrong. With the new seats and a little fresh paint, it seemed easier to watch the stage and not worry about whether the roof would fall in.

That didn't mean she wanted to be there. Scratch that: She did. She wanted to be there, and she needed to be. Tonight was the town's annual talent show. Usually, she wouldn't have bothered, and one year she almost got roped into playing the judge if she hadn't had a sick son at the time for an excuse out. This time, however, it was his son who was the reason she was there. Henry, wanting more time with his birth mother, had brainstormed for days over how he could do this without taking away from his school work or upsetting Regina. The second one was a hard one, but like Ol' King Cole, he had been persuasive. Having asked Mary Margaret, henry was now getting extra credit for art in the talent show. Regina didn't like the fact that she hadn't seen her son most afternoons the past month, but she was curious to see just what henry had forced Emma to do.

The lights went off at about seven forty. The talent show was already running a little bit late due to technical difficulties, but once Mr. Harris found the right chord for the microphone, he went onto the stage. All in all, the acts weren't bad. No one sang too much off key, or knocked over their mic stand, as Regina would expect. There was an early start to Ashley Boyd's song, which she recovered gracefully from by belting out a surprising note that had everyone on their feet afterwards. If Regina were honest, the competition was going to be tight, and she wasn't sure how bummed Henry would be if he didn't even place. Regina straightened her spine and tried to get rid of the guilt for thinking those thoughts and focused her attention when she heard her son and Emma being introduced. The light then went a little bit black, and there was a silhouette of movement to the middle of the stage. The image was short, so Regina knew it Henry. He made a hand movement, and then the music started.

"Birds flying high," Henry began to sing, and this in itself surprised Regina. She was certain from Henry and Emma's practice times and locations that they were going to just dance to something together. She didn't even realize that her son could sing. The lighting above him slowly came on, putting him in a small spotlight. Henry looked dashing in the black suit he wore to special functions, only there was something in his stance that turned him from good boy to someone a bit more grown up. He stood with his left leg crossed slightly over the right, a black fedora hat (a gift from Emma or a loan from the prop department, Regina assumed) held to his chest. "You know how I feel..." This alone surprised Regina. She didn't know exactly what he was performing with Sheriff Swan for the talent show. She had guessed dancing, as he had taken classes in recent years. She didn't think that he'd actually sing instead of lip zincing. Regina watched the boy as he lifted his head. It was then that she noticed the small microphone from his ear to his mouth.

"Sun in the sky, you know how I feel

Breeze driftin' on by... you know how I feel

It's a new dawn...

It's a new day...

It's a new life...

For me..."

Henry smiled somewhat, as if he was fighting back laughter, but to anyone else who might not have known him as well, the smile could have been interpreted as cocky. "And I'm feeling'... good." At this, the sound of big band trumpets sounded. As Henry took a step forward, he put on his hat. "I'm feeling good." Henry made a couple of hopping steps stage right as Emma appeared with two black umbrellas, one of which she twirled in her left hand twice as she walked out with a bit of a swagger in her walk. The other umbrella rested casually over her right shoulder. She wore a matching suit and hat, and Regina saw the resemblance even more than she had in the days since the sheriff's arrival in Storybrooke. The mayor tried to keep her hurt feelings in check and concentrate on the show.

Henry made a turn, and when Emma tossed the twirled umbrella to him, he caught it in his own right hand without looking. This was done in time with the swell of trumpets before a pause. Henry had his back to the audience now as he flipped the umbrella over his right shoulder to match Emma. The music began again as quickly as the pause had come, and Henry's feet moved as if to walk in place where he stood. Emma placed her empty hand in her pocket, stepped forward, and began to sing the second verse.

"Fish in the sea, you know how I feel

River running free, you know how I feel

Blossom on a tree you know how I feel..."

Here, Regina watched, mesmerized as Emma's hand left her pocket and reached out to the air as if touching the imaginary blossom.

"It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life. For me.

And I'm feeling good."

The trumpets sounded in the song again. Henry turned back to face the audience again, and both umbrellas twirled at the same time. Emma took a step backwards at the same time Henry stepped forward, both using fancy footwork that put them side by side. Then they began to move in time together. Starting with Henry, the two performers began to alternate the lines of the next verse, all while their feet remained in motion.

"Dragonfly out in the sun, you know what I mean don't you know"

"Butterflies all having fun, you know what I mean"

"Sleep in peace when day is done, that's what I mean"

"And this whole world is a new world and a full world for me."

Though Regina didn't pay complete attention to what their feet did, she knew that it was the result of twelve weeks of jazz tap classes fused with moves she'd seen once on Singing in the Rain. As their feet moved, Regina studied the look of concentration that passed over Emma's face. The Sheriff could sing, that much Regina could admit to, but it was apparent that the dance moves took a little more out of her. "Uh- for me!"

The two performers purposefully walked to opposite sides of the stage, tossing their umbrellas to whoever waited backstage. Regina saw the slight flutter of curtain on Henry's side, and she could almost see a slight look of warning on the boy's face. At the same time, both performers moved forward in a grand gesture to reach for the hand of Ruby and Paige, both of who wore a red dress and had their hair up. The younger of the two wore the dress with the small frill where the bottom hem met her shins, which seemed to flay with each movement. Regina recognized this dress from the Christmas pageant, though it seemed to suit her now as well, especially when she stood next to Henry. Ruby, however, was dressed to kill. The smooth fabric of the dress draped over every curve of the waitress' body, and it was held up only by two thin straps. The tug on Ruby's hand forced her forwards - whether the slight stumble was an act or not was uncertain at first - and long legs peeked out of the slit that ran to about the middle of her thigh.

In the next instant, the music paused again for a second or so longer than the last one, and both young women were in protective grasps, Paige held at the upper arms as Henry steadied her. There was an apologetic look on his face as slowly, Paige planted her feet in a way that didn't bring too much attention to herself. Emma held Ruby in what Regina guessed to be the correct position. Emma had an arm the brunette's waist as she leaned backwards slightly. One foot was back behind her, and the hand not on the brunette was out to her side and their pelvises touched as Emma tried to keep them both from toppling over. Both of Ruby's hands were on the sheriff's shoulders. She looked almost surprised - possibly another act - but when the waitress saw what seemed to be a challenging sort of look, she returned it with a shouldering glance of her own.

Then, the music began again, loud and almost blaring, which put four bodies in motion. Paige and Ruby seemed to push Henry and Emma backwards while the two suits complied in four steps. Henry ducked to the side quickly, tapped Paige's left shoulder playfully, and took her hand again when she turned slightly towards where the tap had come from. This move switched the younger pair so that to the audience, the two couples were doing the same moves together instead of back to back like before. The younger couple took up position again, this time with Paige on better footing, as the dance seemed to transition more into swing, complete with two small dips and one full circle with hands on each other's hips.

As the music break seemed to die down for the lyrics to resume, Paige and Ruby began to leave the stage again while the audience applauded. Regina did as well, out of politeness, but something made her swallow and almost glare at the state, especially when it looked as though Ruby was lingering. The waitress walked a couple of steps with Emma's tie in hand. She let it slowly slip from her fingers and Emma looked as if she were to follow after her. She only made it a couple of steps before Henry hurried across the stage and grabbed her wrist with both of his hands. As she allowed for the boy to pull her back to center stage, Emma started to sing again, going into the first line of the verse.

"Stars when you shine, you know how I feel"

Henry gave a slap on the back and sang the next line as if speaking to his birthmother, his hands outstretched as if to show her everything that was to come that was right before their eyes.

"Scent of the pine, you know how I feel

Oh freedom is mine, and I know how I feel"

Emma's gaze seemed to follow where the boy gestured, which was somewhere over the audience's head.

"It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life," Emma sang, which Henry repeated.

"Heh, it's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life"

Emma's voice was loud now, carrying over the swelling of trumpet.

"It's a new dawn, it's a new day it's a new life, it's a new life for me..."

Henry smiled and used his elbow to lean against Emma's side. The blonde winced slightly, but together the two of them sang:

"And I'm feeling'... good..."

The song was coming to an end, and as Emma and Henry sang the last 'I'm feeling good', Ruby and Paige returned, causing the boy to stand straighter. As the last note of the big band played, Ruby stood slightly behind a confident Emma, her arms draped across the blonde's chest, while Henry was on one knee before Paige, her hand in his as if he was about to kiss it.

As soon as it occurred to the audience that the song was over, the mayor jumped to her feet with her applause. In the back of her mind, she hoped none of the other parents or teachers minded some of the choreography seeming a bit racy, but most of it was done by Emma and Ruby, and she told herself she would argue that point should the issue arise. Regina whistled and shouted her approval of the performance, and watched as Emma twirled Ruby once and bowed. The mayor then looked to Henry, who got to his feet while he really placed a kiss on Paige's hand. He looked so much like Charming as he, too, quickly bowed and slapped Emma's outstretched hand in a high five. As the performers went backstage, Regina sat down again.

There were other acts after them, of course, but Regina didn't care about any of them. All she could think about was her son and Emma on stage. She still wasn't sure how jealous she should have been, or why. Whether she wanted to be a part of something that was a mother/son project or if she wanted to be the one with her hand on Sheriff Swan's chest after such a performance was something she was still working out when the emcee of the talent show had the performers all come out on stage to be judged by the audience. Henry and Emma got second place; from the look on Henry's face, he didn't' seem to mind this.

Out in the hallway about ten minutes after the theater started to empty out, Regina caught Henry chattering away with Paige and Emma. "I'm sorry I pulled your hand too hard. I know that's why we lost to Jack and Jill," the boy was saying.

"Well, the BeNimble twins WERE using flaming jump ropes," Ruby reminded them.

"Whatever happened to just candlesticks?" Henry asked.

"Huh?"

Seeing as only Emma seemed to get his reference, Henry said, "Never mind." Then he brightened when he saw Regina. "Mom!"

"Hey sweetheart! You did wonderfully!" she said. She was glad to feel her hug returned with the same force.

"If you hadn't had all those meetings last month I would have ha you for a dance partner." he said.

"Hey!" Emma protested. It wasn't certain if it was genuine hurt Regina heard in the blonde's voice or not.

"Mom is the best dancer I know."

"Really?" Ruby asked with interest. She had a hand on Emma's shoulder for balance as she changed from heeled shoes to flat ones, but she stopped her movements to see the mayor's reaction to this.

"That was supposed to be a well-kept secret," Regina replied finally, trying to sound stern, but there was a sense of pride in her voice as well. "You guys all looked really good out there." She looked to Emma. "You look good in that."

"Thank you."

"I really hope someday you don't keep holding on to that secret of an ability to dance. I'd love to learn a few moves from you," Ruby said. The younger brunette shrugged. "Well, this was really fun, but I've gotta get back. Fairy Granny has only given me two hours."

"Bye Ruby!" Henry said with a wave.

"Bye Cutie. Later Em, Madam Mayor."

Henry went with Paige to her parents, leaving Emma and Regina standing in the lobby together. "Me too," Emma said after a moment of silence.

"Excuse me?"

"I'd love to learn a few moves from you," she repeated. When Regina looked over at the sheriff, there was that same challenging look there that she had given to Ruby during the performance.

"You don't believe that I have moves to show you," Regina guessed. The blonde made a half nod, half shrug movement. "Oh, I've got moves," Regina huffed.

Emma's smirk didn't waver. The blonde took two swaggered steps towards Regina, much in the same way she had on stage. She leaned forward, so close that the mayor was certain that Emma was going to kiss her. "Prove it."

"I will, and for the record, miss swan, I ALWAYS win first place." The mayor's tone made it clear that she danced very, very well, and Emma tried to keep the shiver of anticipation at bay. As their lips connected, Emma hoped she would get to learn every single one of Regina's dance moves.

End


End file.
